Bluevale captures girls hockey championship
How physical was it? ‘Sugar and spice but not on the ice,’ says Knights’ Emma Savoie with a chuckle
WATERLOO — Emma Savoie didn’t enjoy a lot of on-ice success during her first three years of high school hockey.
The fourth season more than made up for it.
The Bluevale Knights put the finishing touches on a perfect local season Wednesday afternoon, scoring a 5-1 win over the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders in the championship game of the Waterloo County (WCSSAA) girls hockey league. Meghan Anton, with two, Avery Webster, Lauren Davies and Olivia Gregory did the scoring and Bluevale captured its first WCSSAA championship since 2012 with a dominant performance in an occasionally chippy contest at RIM Park.
“This is amazing because we’ve come so far in the past four years ... we’ve never even been close to a WCSSAA final in my time here,” said Savoie, the Knights’ fourth-year captain.
“This team, we communicate so well together, we work hard, we bear down in practice and we have a great time together, on and off the ice.”
Bluevale and Waterloo-Oxford both advance to next week’s Central Western Ontario triple-A championship in Brantford, with the two finalists from that event moving on to the March 21-23 all-Ontario (OFSAA) championship in Cambridge. The St. Mary’s Eagles, Brantford Collegiate Mustangs, Brantford Assumption Lions and a District 10 (Guelph and area) representative will round out the CWOSSA field.
The Knights (11-0) took control early and never looked back in a game between the league’s two top teams.
Webster scored a power-play goal on Crusaders goaltender Olivia Hunt, 62 seconds after the opening faceoff, and Anton extended the lead to 2-1 just two minutes later.
Sydney Dajka cut in from the left side, made a strong move to the net and beat Knights goaltender Taylor Barton from close range to make it 2-1 in the early stages of the second period but that was as close as it would get.
The Knights led 4-1 after the second period and Gregory completed the scoring midway through the third, taking a nice pass from Meagan Hobson and floating a shot over Sara Komorowski, who tended goal in the final frame.
For Anton, a highly skilled player who also competes for the Mississauga Jr. Chiefs of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League, the WCSSAA championship holds a special place in her heart.
“I grew up with some of these girls and with my other team (Mississauga), I barely know some of them,” she said. “So it’s amazing to share this experience with them. We’ve known all year we can go far and hopefully good things will continue to happen for us.”
The game was not without a talking point.
Waterloo-Oxford’s Maya Graham, who plays for the Waterloo K-W Rangers of the PWHL, sat out the WCSSAA final because she had a game with her club team Wednesday night. Bluevale’s Webster, who had a three-point WCSSAA final, also plays for the Rangers and made a quick exit from RIM Park to hit the road for Toronto and a PWHL game against the Leaside Wildcats.
Crusaders coach Mason Shantz didn’t use his missing player as an excuse but did offer a take on the situation.
“I’m not sure if it’s one following the rules and one not following the rules, or one deciding to play and one not deciding to play,” he said. “All I know is that with our player, it was her decision and we are fine with it. She’ll be back with us at CWOSSA.”
Shantz said his team’s slow start, and a five-minute gap in the second period, turned out to be their downfall.
The Crusaders finished the WCSSAA portion of their campaign with a 9-2 record, both losses coming to Bluevale.
Both teams were assessed six minor penalties and Savoie chuckled when asked about the physical nature of Wednesday’s final.
“Sugar and spice, but not on the ice,” she said.
The CWOSSA championship is slated for Monday and Tuesday at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre.
The WCSSAA boys hockey final between the Grand River Renegades and Huron Heights Huskies was played later Wednesday.